Retainer for concrete form panels



Dec. 26, 1967 E. F. VANDENHEUVEL 3,360,232

RETAINER FOR CONCRETE FORM PANELS Filed June 10, 1965 E Vcmdenheuve]INVENTOR ward United States Patent 3,360,232 RETAINER FOR CONCRETE FORMPANELS Edward F. Vandenheuvel, 2412 Grandview W., Tacoma, Wash. 98466Filed June 10, 1965, Ser. No. 462,844 Claims. (Cl. 249-191) ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE A plate having a central conical portion is provided witha slot radiating from the apex of the cone and terminating at the endopposite the apex in an enlarged ozpening. The enlarged opening isdimensioned to receive the headed end of a concrete form tie rod and theslot is dimensioned to receive the tie rod. A pair of the plates arepositioned one against each of a pair of spaced form panels forsupporting a tie rod at its opposite headed ends.

This invention relates to a retainer for concrete form panels.

In pouring concrete walls, it is conventional practice to construct aform comprising two opposed panels held in spaced, parallel relationshipby means of tie rods. The tie rods in turn are secured by an assembly ofstuds and walers nailed to the outside of the panels.

After the concrete has been poured and hardened, the walers are removedand the panels stripped from the hardened concrete. If it is desired toreuse the panels, they must be subjected to a time consuming and costlycleanup operation which involves removing the nails from them andthereafter scraping them to remove the hardened concrete.

It is the general object of the present invention to provide a retainerfor concrete form panels, the use of which eliminates the necessity ofusing studs and Walers in the erection of concrete forms.

It is another object of the invention to provide a retainer, the use ofwhich reduces the form panel cleanup operation to the single step ofscraping the hardened concrete from the faces of the panels.

Still a further object of the invention is the provision of a retainerfor concrete form panels which may be used rapidly and accurately by acrew of minimum size; which holds the forms securely during use; whichis adaptable for use in the construction of forms of various contour;which may be stripped easily and rapidly from the forms after theconcrete has hardened; and which is light in weight and nests forconvenient storage.

The manner in which the foregoing and other objects of this inventionare accomplished will be apparent from the accompanying specificationand claims, considered together with the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the herein described retainer for concrete formpanels;

FIG. 2 is a view in end elevation of the retainer of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view, and FIG. 4 a fragmentary view inelevation, of a concrete form constructed using the presently describedretainers.

The concrete form panel retainer of my invention is adapted for usebroadly in the demountable assembly of a concrete form comprising aplurality of panels held in parallel, spaced, edge-abutting, concreteform-creating relation. Tie rods penetrate the panels at spacedintervals and project outwardly therefrom on each side.

The presently described retainers comprise plates which are dimensionedto overlie a pair of the apertures, as well as the margins of theadjacent edge-abutting panels. The plates are mounted on the tie rodsand wedged against the outer surfaces of the panels, as by an integral,conical ICC wedge incorporated in each retainer, thereby holding thepanels in proper relation to each other.

After the concrete has been poured and hardened, the plates are removedfrom the form ties and from the panels. Thereafter the panels may bestripped from the concrete and, being free from the nails usually usedin nailing them to the studs, are ready for reuse after a simplescraping operation.

Considering the foregoing in greater detail and with particularreference to the drawings:

The concrete form panel retainers of my invention are useful in theerection of vertical forms such as are illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. Theforms are supported on footings or slabs 10 and comprise a plurality ofplywood or fiberboard panels 12 edge abutted and arranged in parallel,spaced arrangement as required to pour a concrete wall of the desiredthickness. The bases of the lowermost panels are located by means of alumber piece 14 nailed to the concrete slab.

The panels are provided with a plurality of spaced apertures. These areof two categories. Those located in the central parts of the panel maycomprise drilled openings 16 which are entire as shown in FIG. 4. Thoselocated along the edges of the panels comprise half openings orsemi-circular notches 18, as shown in the same figure. When the panelsare placed in edge-abutting relationship the notches register and formcomplete openings.

The apertures thus formed are used to receive tie rods which serve thedual functions of spacing the panels from each other and of mounting theherein described retainers. Any of various commercial tie rods may beused for this purpose. An example is indicated generally at 20 in FIG.3.

It comprises a stem 22 of sufiicient length to extend completely throughthe panels and a spaced distance outwardly from the outer face of eachpanel. A flat head 24 is present on each end of the stem. A-n abutment26 is fixed to the stem a spaced distance inwardly from each head.

The stem is formed with thinned fracture segments 28, a short distanceinwardly from abutments 26. These pe rmit snapping off the tie rods justbeneath the surface of the concrete, after the concrete has hardened.

The presently described retainers are mounted on tie rods 20 andillustrated in detail in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Each retainer comprises a flat plate indicated generally at 30. It maybe fabricated from sheet metal of any suitable size and shape, beingrectangular, square, round or oval.

Each plate is provided with a base 32, the margins of which arepenetrated by a plurality of nail holes 34. These are adapted to receivenails 36.

To stiffen the plate, the edges preferably are rolled outwardly to forma stiffening rib 38.

The plate mounts an integral wedge indicated at 40 and comprising acentrally located, symmetrical or unsymmetrical, conical projection. Theextent and pitch of this projection are variable, depending upon theparticular application. In general, however, the pitch should besufliciently gentle to permit effective application of wedging pressure,as will appear hereinafter.

Cone shaped projection 40 is provided with a radial slot 42. The upperend of the slot terminates at the apex of the cone. The lower endterminates in an opening 44 of enlarged diameter.

The width of slot 42 is sufficient to receive stem 22 of tie rod 20, butinsufiicient to pass tie rod head 24. The diameter of opening 44 isgreater than the diameter of head 24 so that the latter will passthrough the opening.

The procedure employed in erecting concrete forms using the hereindescribed retainer is as follows:

First, locating strips 14 are fastened to the concrete slab or footing.Next, two pairs of opposed panels 12 are placed opposite each otheragainst the locating strips with the apertures in the opposite panelsaligned with each other. Tie rods 20 are inserted through the alignedopenings and the panels plumbed and braced, with their inner facesabutting against abutments 26 of the tie rods.

Retainers 30 are slipped over the outwardly-extending ends of the tierods by inserting the heads of the tie rods through enlarged openings44. Each retainer is slipped along the outer surface of the panel untilit has assumed the FIG. 3 position with respect to tie rod 26, i.e. aposition in which the tie rod extends through the retainer at the apexof the conical projection thereon.

During this motion, a wedging action occurs, the retainer being pressedfirmly against the panel which, in turn, is pressed firmly againstabutment 26.

The retainers then are secured in place by nailing them with nails 36applied through nail holes 34 in the retainer margins. Since retainersmay overlap as many as four edge-abutting panels (FIG. 4), nailing theretainers to the underlying panels secures the panels in theiredgeabutting relationship.

Additional panels are edge-abutted against those to which the retainershave been applied, as necessary to erect a form of the desireddimensions. If desired, this may be done concurrently with the pouringof the concrete, the form being built upwardly to accommodate thesuccessive lifts of concrete.

After the concrete has set, the retainers are removed by striking heads24 of form ties 20, bending the outwardly projecting stems of the tiesalong the length of slots 42 until the heads of the ties are oppositeopenings 44. A suitable pry tool then may be slipped beneath the edge ofeach retainer and used to pry the retainer free from the forms. It is aparticular feature of the invention that as the retainers are pried fromthe forms, nails 36 are removed with the retainers, thereby eliminatingthe necessity of denailing the panels at a later date.

After all of the retainers have been removed, the panels may be strippedfrom the hardened concrete. They then are scraped to remove residualhardened concrete whereupon they are ready immediately for reuse.

The tie rods which have been left extending from the concrete wall aresnapped oil? in the usual manner. The openings which are left then arepatched to complete the concrete pouring operation.

It accordingly will be seen that there is provided an apparatus in whichthe several objects of this invention are achieved and which is welladapted for the conditions of practical use.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and thatvarious changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or thescope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A panel retainer for use in demountably assembling a plurality ofpanels in parallel, spaced, edge-abutting, concrete form-creatingrelation, the panels being apertured at spaced intervals, at least someof the apertures being adjacent the margins of edge-abutting panels, theapertures in opposite panels being disposed in aligned pairs, eachaperture pair being adapted to receive a tierod, the tierod comprising astem having a head on each end and a radial abutment spaced from eachhead, the tierod being dimensioned to extend outwardly a spaced distanceon each side beyond the planes of the panels with the abutments bearingagainst the inner face surfaces thereof, the panel retainer comprising:

(a) a plate dimensioned to overlie one of the aperture pairs and themargins of the adjacent abutting panels, the plate bearing against theouter surfaces thereof,

(b) wedge means projecting angularly outward from the plane of theplate,

(c) the wedge means having on its outward portion an aperture forreleasably receiving the tie rod; and

(d) securing means for securing the plate to the edge abutting panelswhich it overlies.

2. The panel retainer of claim 1 wherein the wedge means comprises aconical projection extending outwardly from the plate and having at itsapex an aperture dimensioned to receive the tierod.

3. The panel retainer of claim 1 wherein the wedge means comprises aconical projection extending outwardly from the plate and having aradial slot one end of which terminates at the apex and has a crosssection smaller than the diameter of the tierod head, and the other endof which terminates in an opening having a cross section greater thanthe diameter of the tierod head.

41 The panel retainer of claim 1 wherein the securing means comprises aplurality of nails penetrating the margins of the plate.

5. The panel retainer of claim 1 wherein the rim of the plate is bentoutwardly to form a stiffening peripheral rib.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,074,460 3/1933 Coet 249-2132,162,349 6/1939 Hillberg 249-213 2,310,669 2/1943 Bosco 249-442,778,087 1/1957 Krueper 249213 2,962,789 12/1960 Williams 24919O3,174,203 3/1965 Kemper 249-213 3,186,679 6/1965 Williams 249191 WILLIAMJ. STEPHENSON, Primary Examiner.

1. A PANEL RETAINER FOR USE IN DEMOUNTABLY ASSEMBLING A PLURALITY OF PANELS IN PARALLEL, SPACED, EDGE-ABUTTING, CONCRETE FORM-CREATING RELATION, THE PANELS BEING APERTURED AT SPACED INTERVALS, AT LEAST SOME OF THE APERTURES BEING ADJACENT THE MARGINS OF EDGE-ABUTTING PANELS, THE APERTURES IN OPPOSITE PANELS BEING DISPOSED IN ALIGNED PAIRS, EACH APERTURE PAIR BEING ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A TIEROD, THE TIEROD COMPRISING A STEM HAVING A HEAD ON EACH END AND A RADIAL ABUTMENT SPACED FROM EACH HEAD, THE TIEROD BEING DIMENSIONED TO EXTEND OUTWARDLY A SPACED DISTANCE ON EACH SIDE BEYOND THE PLANES OF THE PANELS WITH THE ABUTMENTS BEARING AGAINST THE INNER FACE SURFACES THEREOF, THE PANEL RETAINER COMPRISING: (A) A PLATE DIMENSIONED TO OVERLIE ONE OF THE APERTURE PAIRS AND THE MARGINS OF THE ADJACENT ABUTTING PANELS, THE PLATE BEARING AGAINST THE OUTER SURFACES THEREOF, (B) WEDGE MEANS PROJECTING ANGULARLY OUTWARD FROM THE PLANE OF THE PLATE, (C) THE WEDGE MEANS HAVING ON ITS OUTWARD PORTION AN APERTURE FOR RELEASABLY RECEIVING THE TIE ROD; AND (D) SECURING MEANS FOR SECURING THE PLATE TO THE EDGE ABUTTING PANELS WHICH IT OVERLIES. 